Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "何か" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 何か in Japanese?

何か is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /na.ɲi.ka/. It means “something / anything.” na-ni-ka, three even beats — the second n is palatalised, and the か here is not a question marker.

na-ni-ka, three even beats — the second n is palatalised, and the か here is not a question marker.

何か /na.ɲi.ka/

nanika

Crest on the first, and no unit longer than another. The two n consonants are made in different places — one at the ridge, one at the palate — which is a good reminder that Japanese consonants take their shape from the vowel attached to them.

Listen: 何か

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Sound it out

na n formed just behind the upper teeth, opening onto a bright short a.

ni A different n from the one before it: the tongue blade spreads flat against the hard palate, giving a ñ quality, with a short tense i.

ka Another unaspirated k, then an a matching the first. Note this か is part of the word, not the sentence-final question particle.

Hear it in a sentence

何か飲みますか。

Nanika nomimasu ka?

Do you want something to drink?

Listen: 何か飲みますか。

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何か飲みますか ends with the actual question particle か, so the sentence contains two か morae doing quite different jobs. Both are short, unstressed and identical in sound; only their position tells them apart, and neither takes a rising intonation.

Where English speakers slip

"NAH-nee-ka" stretches the first two vowels and stresses the front. All three beats are short and equal. The palatalisation on the second n also gets lost — flatten the tongue blade against the palate rather than tapping with the tip, and the mora takes on its proper lighter quality.